Ginevra Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) The "rules" of this challenge are self-defined. Anyone can join in at any time. The aim of the challenge (for me) is to combat consumerism, wastefulness, mindless buying, and overspending. It is meant to nurture creative problem solving, ecology, frugality, intentionalism, and resourcefulness. To support these goals, I seek to buy nothing new/unnecessary. I aim to use existing resources, borrow, hand-craft, and buy existing second-hand materials to the greatest extent possible. However, I recognize that life is unpredictable, and family life increases this factor exponentially, so I will buy new in the following cases, when a non-buying option does not present: Food, health, and necessary household goods excluded. Requirements for school, work, or health and well-being which cannot be obtained used. Gifts, when a creative non-commercial option will not suffice. Anything animal or gardening related that cannot be obtained used. Fuel/energy sources. Posts will appear each Saturday, referring to the week that is ending. Post your successes, creative solutions, relapses and weak moments. It doesn't matter if you have a weak moment! Just keep swimming! I had several spending events this week, but only a few low-dollar things that I might have done without. I bought baby gifts for my new grand niece, gifts for a care basket to a friend whose dd was in a serious accident, hair cuts for both the boys, goodies I want to put in a Valentine's care package for DD next week, a box of dunkin donuts (clearly unnecessary, but the boys were super happy!), a lunch at Chik-Fil-A with DS11, and a trip to Jiffy Lube and the car wash. Got some groceries at Aldi again today ($43!) and stopped into the Dollar store for another few wonders. (I got a tube of Athlete's Foot medicine for $1!) Oh! Also bought a dress shirt and tie at a consignment shop for DS11 to wear for Easter. My true confession, though, is that the spring Lands End catalog came and I am so in love with their boy's swim clothes! I was *thisclose* to ordering DS some swim stuff on the spot! I haven't even thrown the catalog in the recylce bin, which would be best. So cute, though. Fifty shades of adorable. In other news, I desparately need to re-shop health insurance because our premiums are RIIIIIDICULOUS! Totally crazy-cakes and not sustainable. And we have a high deductable HSA! Our plan renewal is in April, so I need to find something more affordable and a better situation before then. Edited February 6, 2016 by Quill 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I had a spendy week: *dinner out as a family twice this past week *new 1.25gpm shower head *new swim clothes for some of the kids *birthday presents for a wide range of people *homeschool books--some new, some used, more orders to go... *bought a little rebounder, some craft kits, and other things to keep kids busy and doing OT work at home On the saving side: *took advantage of our town's free dump day *used a coupon for a free car wash *repurposed our old gallon jars that held snacks and granola bars to hold beans and rice (they look pretty on my countertop!) *cleaned out my freezer *doing some OT work at home rather than paying $100/hr weekly * 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Lumber store = $10 -- Need new mattress but isn't happening anytime soon. Bought a $10 piece of thick plywood. Put it on the box springs, added a folded up blanket on top of the board where the mattress is sagging. Not a new mattress but is much better. Good money spent. Birthday gift for ds friend Fun food for Superbowl and a few groceries Car wash but did the cheap one Wouldn't have been a bad week except for the fun foods. We rarely buy these foods anymore so it is a treat. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoxinsox Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I liked your format, Prairiewindmomma... Spent: $3 at the thrift store on another lamp and a checker set. They threw in a free lightbulb. $34 at Aldi for important things like cheap eggs, chicken breast, and salad. And bacon. $15 for ice cream from Marble Slab for my husband's birthday. $2 and change for For The Love by Jen Hatmaker. The leggings threads. Y'alls fault. Saved: Friday was a jolly day--my oven was fixed. So instead of buying our carbs, we made them at home. Cinnamon rolls, sandwich buns, crescent rolls, 10 doz. oatmeal cookies, cream puffs for the birthday person, and 2 pizzas. Instead of paying for more garbage bags, we are filling up our trash can from the pile of leaves and setting our bag of trash on top. About one more week of this and we should be done. Tried to take the old box spring to the free dump, but it was closed. Its on the truck for the next free day. In the meantime, its off the front porch. No bandaids left, so 6 year old daughter tied a tissue around her foot and secured it with a foam craft sticker. LOL I saw something today that resonated: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse. I've worked hard to minimize our possessions, and I need to not take boxes of stuff just because they offered and I don't want to hurt their feelings. Mom, I'm talking to you. We don't need Grandma's Tupperware jello mold in order to remember her. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I gave DD $20 for spending money at the ren faire (to which she was invited by a friend), I also bought her a shirt at Goodwill for $2.50 for her scout trip next weekend. And I bought myself a car charger for my phone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Having a house painter (slow, methodical guy who works by himself) in the house has given me an excuse to sort through my desk papers and files, mindfully consider retaining books, etc. I have tossed several bags of stuff and have three boxes/bags in the car to drop off at a charity shop. In January I purchased tickets to a Mardi Gras shrimp/crawdad boil that was held on Friday night (as opposed to Shrove Tuesday). My husband then received an invitation to a board game night that his colleagues have periodically. Since my son is working in the area and home for the weekend, he went off with my husband to play games whilst I invited a friend to join me for shrimp, etc. The game night is a neat idea. The group used a club house in one of those planned communities. People bring favorite games, appetizers and beverages and they order pizza. I think about 25- 30 people were there. My husband says he is one of the "old guys"; most are in the 20s or 30s. I commented to The Boys that from the basis of my grocery store trip, I suspect a hurricane is coming. Everyone was buying chips, beer and toilet paper! Of course, in these parts people are really excited about the Panthers being in the Super Bowl. As a non-fan of football, I am indifferent. We did go out for dinner the day that my kitchen was painted. Other than that, it has been a minimal spend week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 *Bought a cheap paint brush and some paint stripper for a project I'm working on. Could have used my heat gun but with the 20 layer of lead paint, I think the chemical stripper is a better choice. *Bought new shoes for the gym, wore them for 30 minutes and discovered at the heel there is a sharp thing that digs into my heel. Returned them to the store. They cheerfully refunded my money and threw them into the defective bin. *Went to see The Finest Hours. Enjoyed it! *Ordered two books for dh's birthday. Saved: Making taco pizza for Super Bowl and had pizza dough on my grocery list. It was a whopping 1.38 but I decided to make my own instead. It takes like two minutes to measure and toss into the bread machine. Dd made cupcakes for the game and we had everything on hand- right down to the dulce de leche she drizzled on top of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 So... February is going okay with some speed bumps Positive Changes and Saving: I'm now used to not eating out (mostly). We went out to breakfast with my mom on her birthday, but other than that it's been well over a month since we ate out. We used to eat out every Friday, plus in the last six months or so it morphed into Friday... and Saturday... and Sunday... and maybe once during the week. It was absolutely ridiculous, expensive, and I'm so glad we've broken that habit. I'm feeling like a rock star :) Oh, and this is HUGE... I've also beaten my paper towel addiction. I was using about 3 rolls a week. Now I have 1 roll I use to clean the bathrooms and that's it. DH got a huge pack (52?) of small white shop towels from Costco for about $17. This should last us for a long time. I also got some sponges from the dollar store for cleaning (sanitize them in bleach-water). I've continued making my own simple cleaners (mainly bleach-water for counters and bathrooms) instead of buying cleaners. It amazes me how these little things are really adding up. Sold a couple of things on a fb yard sale group and made $30. That has me looking at all our possessions through the eyes of a capitalist (here, kitty, kitty.... j/k) As soon as I find the title to our non-op vehicle we're selling that too. Hoping to make about $700 and not have to look at the ugly, dusty thing anymore. I'm using the library again a lot more. Switching DD 12 to audio books instead of kindle/audible combos. I *love* the "listen as you read" combination, but it was getting expensive (usually around $20 per kindle/audible set). So, for now, it's just audio books for longer books, and magazines (also checked out from the library) to practice text reading. In other news, learning disabilities suck. I have enough Bing Rewards for a $10 Fandango gift certificate, which leads me to.... Money I Have to Spend: Valentine's Day. We're keeping it simple and going out to a casual dinner and a movie. I'll be using the Fandango gift certificate towards that. We have *so much* going on this month financially, I'm going to talk to DH about limiting our gift giving to $10, because.... it's a gesture. Small box of chocolates, a book, whatever. It really IS the though that counts. I had to go to the dentist :( This coming week I'm getting a root canal and some other stuff done. I am beyond grateful for our dental insurance. It covers most of it, but we're still left with a $300 bill. DH had to get a couple of new tires for his car. The good news is he got a great deal. The bad news is it was still $150 dollars we hadn't planned on. What I'm grateful for: I'm grateful that even with the stupid, unexpected expenses we can pay for them without going into debt. Yes, it will make our month tight, but, oh well. There was a time in the not so distant past that I would have just sucked it up and taken ibuprofen by the handful to deal with my tooth abscess, because the money simply wasn't there. (I know this, because I did this with a different tooth.) I don't *like* spending the money on the dentist, but I am so, so, so grateful that we are able to. Same thing with the tires. DH would have just driven on the semi-bald front tires and not said anything. The expenses suck, but what a *blessing* that they won't slay us!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi guys! I'm sort of in a fog, so it is possible that I will not remember everything. But I will try. I sent the check for the girls' farm camp last Thursday. It was $890 per kid. So that is my big confession for the week. :P I did it mindfully, though. :P I mentioned last week about the zoo camps I paid for. Tomorrow I will sign up for math camp - just one week this year. Friday they had a scout lock-in, and my job was to buy grapes, so that was not a big deal. I also bought some frappucinos for moms who need caffeine in the morning, because I wasn't sure there would be coffee there. Trust me, caffeine is always a mindful purchase. :) I should also mention that the lock-in saved me $100 in Saturday morning horse riding lessons. :P I usually don't mention buying fast food, probably because some people think it is very wasteful. I do it often because time is often tight. This week we grabbed McDonald's drive-through twice and the kids had lunchables in the car once. But, we didn't go out to dinner on Friday like we usually do. My kids prepped dinner one day. Eventually I'm hoping that will happen more. We didn't do the TKD brown belt test because we weren't ready, which was partly because Miss A sprained her wrist. (Well, actually a bigger boy twisted her wrist, but whatever.) So we postponed that cost. The other bright side is that the longer it takes us to get our black belt, the longer it will be before I have to start paying for classes. I paid one lump sum a couple years ago that covers unlimited classes until we get our black belts. I do hope we get our bb before my 51st birthday though. That reminds me, I need to order the kids' bigger headgear as they feel their brains are being squished. :P 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) Let's see bought some stuff for school, new sheets and towels, dh new shoes, started buying the girls summer clothes, stocked up on household items, a shower caddy thingy and just bought tickets to see Disney on ice :) oh and we ate out a few times Edited February 8, 2016 by MomtoCandJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Speaking of sheets, I rescued an old sheet set that was someone else's castoff to replace my old set. My old fitted sheet had a huge hole in it, so it needed to go. I will save the other pieces as they are still good and can be used for extra warmth / protection. :) The rescued one does have a stain on it, but who's looking? OK, I just realized how funny it looks to say "I paid $1,760 to send my kids to camp for a week" and then say "I rescued an old stained sheet because I am cheap frugal" in the same thread. :P 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Speaking of sheets, I rescued an old sheet set that was someone else's castoff to replace my old set. My old fitted sheet had a huge hole in it, so it needed to go. I will save the other pieces as they are still good and can be used for extra warmth / protection. :) The rescued one does have a stain on it, but who's looking? OK, I just realized how funny it looks to say "I paid $1,760 to send my kids to camp for a week" and then say "I rescued an old stained sheet because I am cheap frugal" in the same thread. :p I think it's a great example of spending money on things you value while mindfully acquiring things that are just 'things'. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Let's see bought some stuff for school, new sheets and towels, dh new shoes, started buying the girls summer clothes, stocked up on household items, a shower caddy thingy and just bought tickets to see Disney on ice :) oh and we ate a few times[b\] You ATE a few times? Wow, you are really going all out on the spending when you EAT a few times a week! ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) You ATE a few times? Wow, you are really going all out on the spending when you EAT a few times a week! ;)LoL I fixed it, that's what I get for trying to post when the Broncos intercept, though the sheets we bought were on clearance (they are flannel sheets, though it isn't often we find flannel sheets with pockets deep enough for our matress let alone have them on clearance) Edited February 8, 2016 by MomtoCandJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 We drove 35 minutes south to purchase just-butchered chickens from the farm that was our half-pig source. In farmers' market season I would just buy one at a time, but that's still 2.5 months away. Five chickens, three people, 2.5 months... Dh didn't even blink at the cost. Whew! In other large (and very mindful) payments, we paid for dd's university Arabic class for this semester. There is no free or reduced dual-enrollment tuition in our state. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 We got our taxes finished on Saturday and we'll be completely out of debt come mid February, now that dh is no longer self employed, but we have a regular income, things are projected to look much better. I'll even be able to put money into savings. So happy about this. I don't need much in the way of groceries this week, I have a 1quarter of beef that I'll need to pick up from the locker plan on Thursday or Friday. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 :party: Way to go, Prairie Phlox!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 So...I have $48 until payday next Monday...and realized I forgot the lunch stuff I bought to bring for lunch this week at home (4 hours away). So now I have to go shop for lunch food in the (tiny, expensive) grocery store in town. Darn it! Good thing I don't need to buy gas until Monday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I will need to buy TurboTax this week, as I promised to do my friend's taxes. I also do my mom's and sister's taxes. I need to buy the home business version because of their businesses. So that usually ends up being around $100. I guess you could say it is charity. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Cat tooth cleaning estimate from vet: $416. Actual bill (because his teeth didn't need to be extracted, and we turned down a couple of options like sealants that we didn't think were necessary): $216 Estimated cost for The Great Courses that we wanted: $327 Actual cost when we realized we could use PDFs vs paper copies of the booklets: $277 Estimated cost for an extraction for my son (turns out his puffy gum WAS an absess between his baby tooth and his grown tooth, so they need to get that baby tooth OUT): $101. Actual cost: not sure yet. We go on Wednesday. So...we sort of saved money by not getting the extra services for the cat's teeth or the booklets for the courses, but we're still out $600 all in one week. Le sigh. All in one week. (Droop.) We've been having fun putting aside some cash each week for Christmas. I think we'll only put aside $2 this week. On a good note! For the first time in 23 years of marriage, my dh and I got our taxes done before April! Woot! We are getting money back and will pay off a car. Yes! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So, my travel reimbursement check for the staff meeting in December finally showed up. I deposited it to my checking and immediately set up a payment for that amount to my credit card next payday--my checking balance is tight enough right now I'm happy to have the breathing room, but I want to make sure I use the money to pay down the credit card. Since I spend less than I'm reimbursed, over time this should help pay it down even if I wind up using the credit card while on work travel. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So I'm looking over the list of things we are "required" to pack for the farm camp. They want all solid-color stuff, no logos. They want 5 pairs of pants, but they can't be leggings. Uh oh, my kids don't have "pants." Am I gonna have to buy my kids 10 pairs of "pants" that they may never use again? Though, I have been saying they are getting too old to wear just a T-shirt over leggings. I guess I could go shopping on ebay and see if I can find some good prices. Thing is, I really don't know what my kids will wear. Miss A won't wear jeans or uniform pants, so I will try those soft drawstring yoga pants or whatever they are. Ugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Prairie - Phlox -- Way to Go :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Is farm camp a camp where they learn how a farm works? What's the reasoning behind solid colors/no logos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So I'm looking over the list of things we are "required" to pack for the farm camp. They want all solid-color stuff, no logos. They want 5 pairs of pants, but they can't be leggings. Uh oh, my kids don't have "pants." Am I gonna have to buy my kids 10 pairs of "pants" that they may never use again? Though, I have been saying they are getting too old to wear just a T-shirt over leggings. I guess I could go shopping on ebay and see if I can find some good prices. Thing is, I really don't know what my kids will wear. Miss A won't wear jeans or uniform pants, so I will try those soft drawstring yoga pants or whatever they are. Ugh. I think your girls are into horse back. Check out craigslist for used riding pants. Those could work for farm camp and horseback riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Is farm camp a camp where they learn how a farm works? What's the reasoning behind solid colors/no logos? I think it has something to do with being in Amish country. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I think it has something to do with being in Amish country. Maybe they're trying to avoid giving the teens any ideas for rumspringa. :laugh: Last year we were in an Amish area and saw a teen couple ride through on an open cart- they were both wearing jeans, graphic t shirts....and baseball caps with Bud Light logos on them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Aside from gas, groceries and bills dh spent 40 on a teeth cleaning and xrays. We also spent 30 on eating out. I feel a bit guilty about that but it had been awhile so whatever. Later this week we'll be paying of car loan off because of our mindful spending. We got a $18000 loan in August 2014 and will be done with it in a few days!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Dp Edited February 9, 2016 by hjffkj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 We got our taxes finished on Saturday and we'll be completely out of debt come mid February, now that dh is no longer self employed, but we have a regular income, things are projected to look much better. I'll even be able to put money into savings. So happy about this. I don't need much in the way of groceries this week, I have a 1quarter of beef that I'll need to pick up from the locker plan on Thursday or Friday. That is wonderful!! Once our refund comes we'll be debt free aside from our mortgage! That sucker is going to take some time to pay off. My plan is 7 years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I only spent money paying for gymnastics (first month on team for dd1--whew, even having negotiated fewer days for a lower rate, that is a big step up) and for groceries. Which was more expensive than I would have liked, as we live rurally and I usually purchase only fresh produce and occasionally sale items here, as it is so much more expensive. But we had to push back our next trip out of town a week, and were running out of some things. I also finally mastered cooking my own pitas, which took a while to get the knack of. My family loves doing veggie gyros for dinner, which is quite a frugal meal now that I can make the pitas and tzatziki. We are so excited that we have nearly paid off the last of our debt from ds2's medical bills! Only $320 to go! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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